Topic: The Nintendo Switch Thread

@NEStalgia I agree it was a nice announcement for a "Nintendo only" gamer.

Wonder if we'll see improvements or at the very least new multiplayer options to make that $20 worth it

@MisterPi Given the infrastructure Nintendo has setup for the Switch regarding the multiplayer, I am not too confident they ever had plans to do much more than is already in place. If they are only asking $20 instead of the $60 the others are, that suggests it's going to be bare bones.

What are the others giving you for $60?

"Free" games each month that are worth more than $60 (whether you like/want them is irrelevent - they are offered), plus a full online infrastructure, with integrated voicechat without the need for a phone connection. :/

@zitpig that's not entirely true. It's not 'value' unless it's relevant for you as a user.

Not just that but it has a proper friends management system that makes inviting friends into online games easy without each developer having to create their own way of doing so. They also give you additonal discounts on digital games

@ToiletDuck - The "Free" games are just that. Free (as long as you pay for the service). You really are paying for the infrastructure. So therefore, the games are an added value incentive. If you want the infrastructure (ie to play online, it's a price you have to pay). If you get something else too, that's a bonus, whether you want them or not. You are looking at the "free" games as the reason to buy the service. That is not the right way to look at it.

Go shopping in your local supermarket and you also get similar incentives, whether you want them or not eg "Buy 1 get one free" - you only came in for that one product, but as they are also giving something away for free, you're not going to leave it on the shelf.

XBox Live never used to give away free games, but the price was still $60; people who want the service (online play or "free" games) have to pay.

@zitpig You're not paying for the online infrastructure. Nearly all of their games use a P2P network (I can't think of any games that have dedicated servers at least). You're paying for the 'free' games.

@NEStalgia Wow! Yeah, this thread does move fast! I know what you mean about 'social' gaming - the irony is that they can become quite anti-social activities in many ways! ..the only thing that pulled me in to GTAO was the race creator really - I'd played a few shooters that allowed you to design your own deathmatches, but never a racing game - and that alone was enough to keep me hooked for a good while (..almost like a 'Mario Kart Maker' type thing!) ..but some would find truly bizarre ways to enjoy that game - I remember encountering one 'crew' who just enjoyed driving around obeying the traffic signals, speed limits etc and trying their best to never, ever, ever pick up a wanted level! :/ ..whatever floats your boat, I guess! (..with those people, I'm not sure I even want to understand their motivation! Haha!)

'Free' games can be very hit-and-miss though (..or miss-and-miss-and-miss-and-miss-and-miss-and-miss-and-hit-and-miss-and-miss-and-miss-and-miss-and-miss to be a bit more accurate)

..it's often (especially with PS+ in my experience) not all it's cracked up to be!

@Octane. Sorry, but you ARE paying for the infrastructure, including servers and other such gubbins -

https://www.xbox.com/en-GB/live/gold

Give me cloud saves, voice chat and friend messaging, and I'll call it even for $20 a year.

System level is preferred, but if the app could do voice chat for any game, and message any friend... I'd be ok with that. Something, however, tells me that won't be the case

@JaxonH Yeah, that's what I'd be hoping for too - a good selection of free games can only sweeten the deal, but if Nintendo announce that the online service will be more robust as a result (voice chat in any game, better connectivity, internet-reliant features supported for longer etc) that alone would be worth the subscription fee for me

@zitpig Sony doesn't do it, that's for sure. And I know that a lot of Microsoft's games use P2P as well. Forza 7 for example. I certainly wouldn't believe what they are saying, they're the ones selling you something after all. Unless they have provided a list which states which games use dedicated servers and which ones don't. I think you'll be surprised...

NL still haven't posted the Japanese sales charts for this week. I've just sent them a reminder. This online subscription doesn't sound great. There's very few online games, most don't cost Nintendo a penny, charging for old VC games most of us own numerous times, now paying for discounts. Basically, paying for everything that we currently get for free. Oh ya, and that crappy phone app.

I didn't quote SONY and I don't care if you don't believe Microsoft. They are advertising that "fact." Unless you have proof that what they say is inaccurate, we have to give them the shadow of the doubt; ie that you ARE paying for the infrastructure and that the "free" games are indeed gratis.

Anyway arguing over what you get for $20 is pretty stupid. You can't even get a good take-away meal for that! At least you'll have year's worth of online "fun" and perhaps some "free" games and extras too.

Why do you have to give them the shadow of the doubt? It seems fine to doubt them.

And this is also true for MS and Sony.

The publishers and devs have their own infrastructure with servers. There is a reason we sometimes get stories about PS players suddenly finding PC or Xbox players in certain games (i.e rocket league), it is because the servers are not hosted at Sony or MS. If the only thing you are paying for is to connect for online play, you are scammed.

What they are saying is that they are hosting their stuff (i.e voice chat servers) in Azure, nothing more, nothing less.

LOL. Well, I don't have enough evidence to state they are lying myself!

I work in an environment where I have to provide evidence to back up everything. You can presume it's inaccurate, but you can't state it, because a) it's libellous and b) you have nothing more to go on than hearsay, rumours and hunches - none of which will stand up in a court!